Tradesman insurance

Because your work is so varied, you face many different daily risks and challenges. It's important to protect yourself against these risks by having the right insurance in place.

If your tools are damaged or stolen, you would have to pay to repair or replace them without insurance. This could potentially be a significant cost to your business. Your tools could also pose a hazard to members of the public. As a Trades Professional, you should have Trades Professional public liability insurance in place to protect against risks that may cause injury to the public or your customers. If you employ staff, you're legally required to have employers liability insurance. Professional indemnity insurance will cover any legal costs and damages that you could be liable for should you or your business make a mistake.

Any business that has employees, whether full-time, part-time, or temporary, is required to have employers' liability insurance. It provides coverage for claims made by employees who suffer injury or illness as a result of their work.

In the UK, it is a legal requirement and mandated by the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969.

While self-employed individuals without employees do not need this insurance, those who hire subcontractors or have staff must obtain it.

If a business has volunteers, family members are volunteering or helping out without formal employment, they may not be covered under the employers liability insurance, but it could be wise to consider coverage for them as well.

A "To Whom It May Concern" certificate of insurance is a document that provides proof of insurance coverage to a third party. This type of certificate is often requested by individuals or organizations that need verification of a business's insurance policies, typically for purposes such as contracts, leases, or compliance with regulations. 

It is important to note that a certificate of insurance is not a contract and does not alter the terms of the insurance policy. It merely serves as evidence of coverage and does not guarantee that a claim will be paid.

The TWIMC Certificates have to be manually generated and in adherence with the levels of cover that you have purchased and are available upon request. Should you wish to receive a TWIMC, please contact us on 0330 818 6306.

The terms Declared Value and Market Value are used in insurance and both have an impact on how a claim is settled.

Declared Value is where you insure an item based on your opinion or valuation. It is most common with vintage cars, art work, jewellery and one offs/limited editions where there are considerations for sentimental value and if the item can not be replaced. Normally any settlement will not have any deductions made unless the item is over valued.

Market Value is more commonly used where the loss or damage to an item is settled based on what it would cost to replace the item like for like. For example a modern motor vehicle or computer declared unrepairable will be valued this way by an engineer/loss adjustor where the age, condition and market value may influence the settlement offer.

It is important to understand that during the event of the claim, it is your responsibility to prove the value of the item. Best practices include taking images of the item and keeping receipts/valuations to proof both ownership and value.

Should you wish to discuss this in more detail or to check if any of the above applies to your policy, please contact us on 0330 818 6306.

To access your documents, simply log into your Account, click on "Your Policies" and then select the "View" button  on the policy. From here you can download the document if needed.

Please note that under your account, there is a button titled "Documents". This button is for uploading documents and not for accessing your policy documents.

Log-in to the portal.

The portal enables us to be more environmentally friendly as we reduce the amount of printed policies and adopt a digital approach. 

Yes. All new policies sold online and renewals can be paid for by Debit and Credit Card. Some policies have an option to pay by finance which is offered via Close Brothers Premium Finance. 

Whilst not offered online, some Insurers may also offer a direct debit. Please contact us if you wish to learn of different methods of payment and whether Direct Debit is offered or if you wish to pay via finance.

Yes. You can manage your policy renewal online. We will inform you by email within 28 days before your renewal date and upload all your renewal documentation onto the portal for you to review.

If you have not heard from us prior to the renewal, please check your documentation carefully in case there has been a change to your circumstances to prevent accidental underinsurance or a gap in cover. 

You can also make payment online for your renewal by card and where applicable by Premium Finance or Direct Debit. If you had paid your previous years policy by Direct Debit, please contact us as it is not uncommon for renewals on Direct Debits to renew automatically.

Please don't assume your policy has been renewed until you have received confirmation in from us. 

If you are concerned about your policy, please call us prior to the date of renewal and one of our Team will be happy assist you.

We make individual client administration charges per policy (up to a maximum of 3 policies, per policy period) to cover the costs associated with administering your insurances e.g. arranging a new policy, carrying out short-period or mid-term cancellations, mid-term changes, providing replacement or duplicate documents and for other administrative tasks. We will advise you of the amount of fee before you become liable to pay it. Individual charges will not be made in relation to employee benefit related products.

Unfortunately you can not make changes online. If you need to make any changes to your policy please contact us on 0330 818 6306.

Any cancellation will also need to be handled offline. Please note that all policies are contracts and there may be stipulations that could affect any refund amount due. Such examples include:

• Any claims made within the period of insurance (excluding claims made in previous years unless made under Professional Indemnity or claims that have been settled as non fault or where the claim has been settled with no payment being made)
• The Insurers terms and conditions stated within the Policy Wording states that any cancellation in cover are non refundable. 
• Some Insurers may place a condition that if a refund is below a set amount, there will be no refund due to processing fees.

Should you wish to discuss this in more detail or to check if any of the above applies to your policy, please contact us and one of our Team will advise you accordingly.

The knowledge that experienced claims professionals will support you is just as important as the policy cover.

Our dedicated in-house claims team will be by your side, fighting your corner from start to finish. We promise to be there when it matters most.

Make a claim.

Alternatively you can call us on 0330 818 7677, and speak to our team of experts who will be on hand to provide the best solution and guide you through the next steps. 

Should you have any further enquiries, call an one of our dedicated team experts now on 0330 818 6306.